The Best, Bravest Boy
by Evergreen 360
Summary: OneShot. "James decided Daddy must not be very good at his job if he just went around kissing evildoers like Albus." A quiet evening in the Potter's living room in which James Sirius tries to do the right thing, Albus laughs at Daddy, and Lily decides they're all very silly. NextGen drabble.


**Hidey-ho, neighbors! It's Christmas, which means it's time for me to re-read the Harry Potter books, which means it's time for me to imagine life after Hogwarts, which means I write things like this fluffy one-shot when I should be studying for my Business final tomorrow morning. (Oops.) I've actually been writing a _lot_ of Harry Potter stuff lately - because I'm a Grade A procrastinator - and I've got some things planned...so stay tuned! **

**For now, I leave you with this cute, fluffy, family fic. I've no idea where it came from, but I wrote it in about half an hour so clearly I was inspired by something... Keep in mind that it's written from the (somewhat omnipotent) POV of a three year old, a two year old, and a very small 3(ish) month baby, so _yes_, it will be a tad repetitive...but I found it entertaining so please enjoy! (And if you do _enjoy_, please review!)  
**

**Until next time, kids!**

**-E**

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For a three year old, James Potter already had a well formed idea of justice; so when he noticed his little brother's pudgy hand inching toward his new baby sister's teddy bear, he acted swiftly. "No, Alby, bad! Don't take from Lily!" He shouted and put his hands on his hips like he'd seen Mummy do when she was cross.

Albus, who was barely two years old and had only been trying to _feel_ the nice-looking teddy, gave a surprised gasp and fell backwards onto his squishy diapered bottom. He blinked once in surprise and then, with an impressively loud hiccup, began to cry.

James's hands unpinned themselves from his hips and he frowned. "Stop crying, Alby," he ordered. James thought it was very silly of his brother to cry over such a thing as a teddy bear. Why, just that morning Mummy had given Albus _two_ biscuits and had only given James _one_, and James hadn't cried at all. He decided this served as validation that he was, in fact, the best, bravest boy in the world.

Despite James's obvious superiority, Albus continued to wail.

Lily, who was just a pink, newborn lump with a shock of red hair, had already decided that her brothers were very silly boys. She had also decided that Albus could just _have_ the teddy bear, since it was bigger than her anyhow, and tickled her nose when Daddy made her snuggle with it.

Albus sniffled loudly and seemed to stop crying for a moment – a very happy, quiet moment, James thought – but after his momentary reprieve, the wailing continued. Frustrated, James let himself fall down onto his backside. He frowned at his shoes since he didn't know where else to look. They were white with Velcro fasteners and little golden things with wings that Daddy called…_switches._ The switches moved whenever James took a step and he liked that – though he had learned early on that the switches would move if he smacked the bottom of his shoes, also. It was a discovery that had driven Mummy and Daddy a bit mad.

Footsteps sounded from the stairs in the kitchen and James looked up expectantly. As soon as he saw Daddy turn the corner, he lifted a pudgy arm and pointed at Albus.

"Alby tried to take Lily's teddy," he tattled. He was very proud of himself for telling Daddy of naughty Albus's wickedness. Maybe they'd send him back and Mummy and Daddy could get a better brother for him, like Fred or Louis.

But Daddy looked tired today and didn't seem to hear James's announcement. He went straight to the naughty boy Albus and lifted him into his arms, smiling even though his eyes looked sad.

"Hush, Albus, it's alright," Daddy said and kissed naughty Albus's forehead.

James pouted. This was not how he'd pictured this moment in his head. Mummy said Daddy's job was catching bad wizards but he'd heard how bad Albus was and had _kissed_ him! James decided Daddy must not be very good at his job if he just went around kissing evildoers like Albus.

From the floor, Lily couldn't see much of what was going on, but she could hear Daddy comforting Albus and she wanted to look at Daddy, with his funny pointy hair and the squiggle line on his forehead.

She'd seen Albus and James move around before and thought she ought to be able to as well, but when she wiggled her little arms and legs all she managed to do was muss up the blanket's she'd been laying on. Struck by the injustice of it all, Lily couldn't help the sob that escaped her tiny body.

The sound that erupted from his little sister made James jump. She was louder than Albus! He watched her, concerned for a moment, and then he heard Daddy sigh deeply.

"Ginny!" Daddy shouted, which is what silly Daddy sometimes called Mummy when he forgot her name.

James heard footsteps from the kitchen and Mummy appeared around the corner then, her carrot hair tied up in a knot on top of her head. She didn't look tired like Daddy did and when she smiled her eyes looked happy too, not just her lips. James decided Daddy ought to practice smiling more.

"What are you crying about, Miss Lily?" Mummy said in a silly voice that made James smile. She reached down and pulled the crying pink baby into her arms carefully. "You silly little girl, did you mess up your blankets?"

Lily didn't answer so James nodded for her. "She went like this," he said and wiggled to demonstrate Lily's earlier acrobatics. Mummy watched him and laughed, which made James happy. Mummy had such a pretty laugh.

"Well that would do it," Mummy said, still smiling. "Were you watching your baby sister, Jamie, helping Mummy and Daddy?"

James nodded, his chest swelling with pride. He _knew_ he was the bravest best boy. He knew it.

Mummy bounced Lily in her arms for a few seconds and the little girl quieted down. She was quite happy to be in Mummy's arms. Mummy was warm and soft and didn't wrinkle like blankies when Lily squirmed, which was very much appreciated.

James got tired of watching Mummy bounce Lily, so he turned his head to Daddy and Albus, who had finally stopped crying like a bad boy. Daddy was sitting in a chair with Albus on his knee, making faces and tickling his son.

Albus liked Daddy's silly faces. Sometimes he looked like James and Albus thought that was very funny.

After watching Daddy play with naughty Albus for a while, James decided that if Daddy caught bad wizards and wasn't worried about what Albus had done, stealing the teddy bear must not have been a bad crime after all. He felt like a naughty boy for making Albus cry. So, with some effort, he clambered to his feet and tottered over to his Daddy.

"I'm sorry, Alby," he said and his little brother looked down at him, a wide smile on his tear-stained face. "I thought you were naughty but Daddy doesn't think so, so I don't think so." Daddy smiled hugely and James, again, felt validated as being the best, bravest boy.

He tried to pull himself into Daddy's lap so he could sit next to Albus, but he was too short and all he managed to do was wiggle his legs in the air a bit. Daddy laughed and helped him up, which James thought was very nice of him, though he could have done without the laughter.

Daddy started making faces again and bouncing the little boys on his knees.

High, squealing laughter replaced the earlier sounds of crying and Lily decided she liked that a lot better. Mummy carried her over to where Daddy was playing with James and Albus. Lily saw the faces Daddy was making and decided that yes, James and Albus were very silly boys, but Daddy was a silly boy too, so maybe that was okay.

For a three year old, James Potter had a pretty good idea of justice. He also felt that he had a firm grasp on making Mummy laugh and Daddy smile. He knew he ought to not make Albus cry any more and that he should protect Lily from naughty Albus and other bad boys.

For a three year old, James Potter had a well-formed idea of what it meant to be a family.

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**Please leave a review and let me know what you think!**


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